USER-FRIENDLY WIRELESS SERVICE ACTIVATION PROCEDURE USING REMOTE eSIM PROVISIONING

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example, identifying an assigned friendly-phrase embedded universal integrated circuit card identifier (fpEID) for a wireless communication device and sending a service request message to a service provider network to initiate a service activation procedure, the service request message comprising the assigned fpEID. Various embodiments can include sending an fpEID assignment request message to a device vendor network, receiving an fpEID assignment confirmation message from the device vendor network in response to the fpEID assignment request message, and identifying the assigned fpEID based on the fpEID assignment confirmation message. Other embodiments are disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE FOR RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/711,032 filed Dec. 11, 2019. The content of each of the foregoing arehereby incorporated by reference into this application as if set forthherein in full.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The subject disclosure relates to a user-friendly wireless serviceactivation procedure using remote eSIM provisioning.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, subscriber identity module (SIM) provisioning forwireless communication devices, such as cellular phones, has been aprocedure that in most cases is completed prior to distribution ofdevices to their end users. However, for various reasons, it has becomeincreasingly desirable over recent years to enable SIM provisioning tobe performed after end users have taken possession of their devices. Tothis end, development has been ongoing of standards and procedures forremote SIM provisioning (RSP). Implementation of RSP allows wirelessservice providers to provision devices with embedded SIMs (eSIMs),without any need for physical access to those devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary, non-limitingembodiment of a communications network in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of an operating environment in accordance with variousaspects described herein.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a first method inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a second method inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a third method inaccordance with various aspects described herein.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example, non-limitingembodiment of a virtualized communication network in accordance withvarious aspects described herein.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of amobile network platform in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example, non-limiting embodiment of acommunication device in accordance with various aspects describedherein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject disclosure describes, among other things, illustrativeembodiments for enabling remote provisioning of an eSIM of a wirelesscommunication device without requiring a user to enter an embeddeduniversal integrated circuit card identifier (EID) of the wirelesscommunication device. Some embodiments can include assigning afriendly-phrase EID (fpEID) to the wireless communication device.Various embodiments can include receiving, by a device vendor network,an EID retrieval request message sent by a service provider network, theEID retrieval request comprising the fpEID assigned to the wirelesscommunication device. Some embodiments can include sending, by thedevice vendor network, an EID retrieval response message to the serviceprovider network, the EID retrieval response message comprising an EIDof the wireless communication device. Various embodiments can includeauthenticating the wireless communication device, by the device vendornetwork, prior to sending the EID retrieval response message to theservice provider network. Other embodiments are described in the subjectdisclosure.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include an apparatus,comprising a processing system for a wireless communication device, theprocessing system including a processor, and a memory that storesexecutable instructions that, when executed by the processing system,facilitate performance of operations. The operations can compriseidentifying an assigned friendly-phrase embedded universal integratedcircuit card identifier (fpEID) for the wireless communication deviceand sending a service request message to a service provider network toinitiate a service activation procedure, the service request messagecomprising the assigned fpEID. Further operations can comprise sendingan fpEID assignment request message to a device vendor network,receiving an fpEID assignment confirmation message from the devicevendor network in response to the fpEID assignment request message, andidentifying the assigned fpEID based on the fpEID assignmentconfirmation message.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a non-transitorymachine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, whenexecuted by a processing system for a wireless communication device, theprocessing system including a processor, facilitate performance ofoperations. The operations can comprise identifying an fpEID for thewireless communication device and sending a service request message to aservice provider network to initiate a service activation procedure, theservice request message comprising the assigned fpEID. Furtheroperations can comprise sending an fpEID assignment request message to adevice vendor network, receiving an fpEID assignment confirmationmessage from the device vendor network in response to the fpEIDassignment request message, and identifying the assigned fpEID based onthe fpEID assignment confirmation message.

One or more aspects of the subject disclosure include a method. Themethod can include identifying an fpEID for a wireless communicationdevice and sending a service request message to a service providernetwork to initiate a service activation procedure, the service requestmessage comprising the assigned fpEID. The method can further includesending an fpEID assignment request message to a device vendor network,receiving an fpEID assignment confirmation message from the devicevendor network in response to the fpEID assignment request message, andidentifying the assigned fpEID based on the fpEID assignmentconfirmation message.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a block diagram is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a communications network 100 inaccordance with various aspects described herein. For example,communications network 100 can facilitate in whole or in part sending anfpEID assignment request message to a device vendor network, receivingan fpEID assignment confirmation message from the device vendor networkin response to the fpEID assignment request message, identifying anassigned fpEID based on the fpEID assignment confirmation message, andsending a service request message to a service provider network toinitiate a service activation procedure, the service request messagecomprising the assigned fpEID. In particular, a communications network125 is presented for providing broadband access 110 to a plurality ofdata terminals 114 via access terminal 112, wireless access 120 to aplurality of mobile devices 124 and vehicle 126 via base station oraccess point 122, voice access 130 to a plurality of telephony devices134, via switching device 132 and/or media access 140 to a plurality ofaudio/video display devices 144 via media terminal 142. In addition,communication network 125 is coupled to one or more content sources 175of audio, video, graphics, text and/or other media. While broadbandaccess 110, wireless access 120, voice access 130 and media access 140are shown separately, one or more of these forms of access can becombined to provide multiple access services to a single client device(e.g., mobile devices 124 can receive media content via media terminal142, data terminal 114 can be provided voice access via switching device132, and so on).

The communications network 125 includes a plurality of network elements(NE) 150, 152, 154, 156, etc. for facilitating the broadband access 110,wireless access 120, voice access 130, media access 140 and/or thedistribution of content from content sources 175. The communicationsnetwork 125 can include a circuit switched or packet switched network, avoice over Internet protocol (VoIP) network, Internet protocol (IP)network, a cable network, a passive or active optical network, a 4G, 5G,or higher generation wireless access network, WIMAX network,UltraWideband network, personal area network or other wireless accessnetwork, a broadcast satellite network and/or other communicationsnetwork.

In various embodiments, the access terminal 112 can include a digitalsubscriber line access multiplexer (DSLAM), cable modem terminationsystem (CMTS), optical line terminal (OLT) and/or other access terminal.The data terminals 114 can include personal computers, laptop computers,netbook computers, tablets or other computing devices along with digitalsubscriber line (DSL) modems, data over coax service interfacespecification (DOCSIS) modems or other cable modems, a wireless modemsuch as a 4G, 5G, or higher generation modem, an optical modem and/orother access devices.

In various embodiments, the base station or access point 122 can includea 4G, 5G, or higher generation base station, an access point thatoperates via an 802.11 standard such as 802.11n, 802.11ac or otherwireless access terminal. The mobile devices 124 can include mobilephones, e-readers, tablets, phablets, wireless modems, and/or othermobile computing devices.

In various embodiments, the switching device 132 can include a privatebranch exchange or central office switch, a media services gateway, VoIPgateway or other gateway device and/or other switching device. Thetelephony devices 134 can include traditional telephones (with orwithout a terminal adapter), VoIP telephones and/or other telephonydevices.

In various embodiments, the media terminal 142 can include a cablehead-end or other TV head-end, a satellite receiver, gateway or othermedia terminal 142. The display devices 144 can include televisions withor without a set top box, personal computers and/or other displaydevices.

In various embodiments, the content sources 175 include broadcasttelevision and radio sources, video on demand platforms and streamingvideo and audio services platforms, one or more content data networks,data servers, web servers and other content servers, and/or othersources of media.

In various embodiments, the communications network 125 can includewired, optical and/or wireless links and the network elements 150, 152,154, 156, etc. can include service switching points, signal transferpoints, service control points, network gateways, media distributionhubs, servers, firewalls, routers, edge devices, switches and othernetwork nodes for routing and controlling communications traffic overwired, optical and wireless links as part of the Internet and otherpublic networks as well as one or more private networks, for managingsubscriber access, for billing and network management and for supportingother network functions.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example of an operatingenvironment 200 in which the disclosed user-friendly procedure forwireless service activation using remote embedded subscriber identitymodule (eSIM) provisioning may be implemented according to variousembodiments. In operating environment 200, a user 201 may wish to obtainwireless service for a wireless communication device (WCD) 202 featuringan eSIM 203. User 201 may select a wireless service provider, and awireless service activation procedure may be initiated in order toobtain wireless service from the selected wireless service provider.Initiation of the wireless service activation procedure may beaccomplished by opening/running, on wireless communication device 202, aservice activation application for the selected wireless serviceprovider. In conjunction with activating service for wirelesscommunication device 202, the wireless service provider may remotelyprovision eSIM 203.

In order to remotely provision eSIM 203, the wireless service providermay require knowledge of an embedded universal integrated circuit cardidentifier (EID) 204 associated with eSIM 203. According to oneapproach, the service activation application may be configured to promptuser 201 to enter EID 204 during the service activation process.However, EID 204 may comprise a large sequence of numerals, such as a32-digit number, and it may be difficult for user 201 to identify/findEID 204. Thus, requiring user entry of EID 204 may be burdensome uponuser 201, and also prone to error.

According to the novel techniques disclosed herein, a user-friendlywireless service activation procedure may be implemented that absolvesuser 201 of the burden of manual EID entry. During service activation,rather than being required to type in EID 204, user 201 may merely needto provide a friendly-phrase EID (fpEID) 205. fpEID 205 may generallyrepresent a phrase or text string that is shorter and/or easier to enterthan EID 204.

In various embodiments, user 201 may request assignment of an fpEID foruse in conjunction with service activation by providing user input 206.In some embodiments, user 201 may open a device vendor application onwireless communication device 202, and may provide user input 206 to thedevice vendor application in order to request fpEID assignment. Invarious embodiments, the device vendor application may be native towireless communication device 202. In some other embodiments, the devicevendor application may be downloaded onto wireless communication device202 from an external source. In various embodiments, the device vendorapplication may represent particular functionality within the nativedevice settings of wireless communication device 202. In some otherembodiments, the device vendor application may represent a dedicatedapplication that is separate from the native device settings of wirelesscommunication device 202.

In various embodiments, based on received user input 206, wirelesscommunication device 202 may detect the request for fpEID assignment. Inresponse, in some embodiments, wireless communication device 202 maysend an fpEID assignment request message 208 to an identity managementframework 235 of a device vendor network 230. Device vendor network 230may generally comprise a network of a device vendor associated withwireless communication device 202. Identity management framework 235 maygenerally comprise hardware and/or software that is operative to manageand track the assignment of fpEIDs to devices manufactured/sold by thedevice vendor, as well as the EIDs of those devices, and to handlerequests for assignment of fpEIDs and retrieval of associated EIDs. Invarious embodiments, fpEID assignment request message 208 may comprisethe EID 204 of wireless communication device 202.

In some embodiments, responsive to receipt of fpEID assignment requestmessage 208, identity management framework 235 may assign fpEID 205 towireless communication device 202. In various embodiments, the EID 204of wireless communication device 202 and the assigned fpEID 205 ofwireless communication device 202 may be stored by identity managementframework 235. In some embodiments, an fpEID assignment confirmationmessage 210 may be sent from identity management framework 235 towireless communication device 202 in order to notify wirelesscommunication device 202 of the assignment of fpEID 205 to wirelesscommunication device 202. In various embodiments, fpEID assignmentconfirmation message 210 may comprise the fpEID 205 that has beenassigned to wireless communication device 202. In some embodiments,responsive to receipt of fpEID assignment confirmation message 210,fpEID 205 may be presented at wireless communication device 202 toinform user 201 of the assigned fpEID.

In various embodiments, the fpEID 205 that is assigned to wirelesscommunication device 202 may be selected by identity managementframework 235. In some other embodiments, wireless communication device202 may present a user interface via which user 201 can specify aparticular requested fpEID. In various embodiments, fpEID assignmentrequest message 208 may include an indication of the requested fpEIDthat user 201 has specified, and identity management framework 235 mayassign that requested fpEID to wireless communication device 202. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, once it has been assigned fpEID 205, wirelesscommunication device 202 may initiate a wireless service activationprocedure in order to obtain service from a wireless service provider.In various embodiments, user 201 may use a service activationapplication associated with the wireless service provider to initiatethe wireless service activation procedure. In some such embodiments, theservice activation application may be a pre-installed application thatis native to wireless communication device 202. In other embodiments,the service activation application associated with the wireless serviceprovider may be downloaded onto wireless communication device 202 froman external source. The embodiments are not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, in order to initiate the wireless serviceactivation procedure, wireless communication device 202 may send aservice request message 212 to a service activation framework 245 of aservice provider network 240. Service provider network 240 may generallycomprise a network of the wireless service provider from which wirelessservice is to be obtained. Service activation framework 245 maygenerally comprise hardware and/or software that is operative to receiveand fulfill requests for service activation received from wirelesscommunication devices located within the wireless service area(s) of thewireless service provider. In some embodiments, service request message212 may comprise the fpEID 205 that has previously been assigned towireless communication device 202. In various embodiments, servicerequest message 212 may additionally comprise device information 214.Device information 214 may generally comprise information that, alone orin combination with fpEID 205, uniquely identifies wirelesscommunication device 202 to identity management framework 235. Forexample, according to some embodiments, device information 214 maycomprise an international mobile equipment identity (IMEI) of wirelesscommunication device 202. In various other embodiments, deviceinformation 214 may not be included in service request message 212. Theembodiments are not limited in this context.

In some embodiments, in response to receipt of service request message212, service activation framework 245 may send an EID retrieval requestmessage 216 to identity management framework 235 in order to obtain theEID 204 for the eSIM 203 of wireless communication device 202. Invarious embodiments, EID retrieval request message 216 may comprise thefpEID 205 assigned to wireless communication device 202. In someembodiments, service request message 212 may include device information214, and service activation framework 245 may include that deviceinformation 214 in EID retrieval request message 216. The embodimentsare not limited in this context.

In various embodiments, based on the fpEID 205—and according to someimplementations, device information 214—comprised in EID retrievalrequest message 216, identity management framework 235 may identify EID204 as the EID to be provided to service activation framework 245 inresponse to EID retrieval request message 216. In some embodiments,identity management framework 235 may initiate an authenticationprocedure in order to confirm that the device attempting to activateservice using EID 204 is authorized to do so. In various embodiments,the authentication procedure may implement multi-factor authentication.

In some embodiments, in conjunction with the authentication procedure,identity management framework 235 may send a device authentication query218 to wireless communication device 202. In various embodiments,responsive to receipt of device authentication query 218, wirelesscommunication device 202 may send authentication information 220 toidentity management framework 235. In some embodiments, identitymanagement framework 235 may then attempt to authenticate wirelesscommunication device 202 based on authentication information 220. Invarious embodiments, upon a successful authentication of wirelesscommunication device 202, identity management framework 235 may provideEID 204 to service activation framework 245. In some embodiments,identity management framework 235 may provide EID 204 by including it inan EID retrieval response message 222 that identity management framework235 sends to service activation framework 245 in response to EIDretrieval request message 216. The embodiments are not limited in thiscontext.

FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 300 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. While for purposes of simplicityof explanation, the respective processes are shown and described as aseries of blocks in FIG. 3, it is to be understood and appreciated thatthe claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks, assome blocks may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with otherblocks from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not allillustrated blocks may be required to implement the methods describedherein.

As shown in FIG. 3, a user request for fpEID assignment may be detectedat 302 based on received user input. For example, based on received userinput 206 in operating environment 200 of FIG. 2, wireless communicationdevice 202 may detect a request on the part of user 201 for an fpEIDassignment. At 304, an fpEID assignment request message comprising anEID of a wireless communication device may be sent to a device vendornetwork. For example, in operating environment 200 of FIG. 2, wirelesscommunication device 202 may send fpEID assignment request message 208comprising EID 204 to identity management framework 235. At 306, anfpEID assignment confirmation message may be received that indicates anassigned fpEID for the wireless communication device. For example, inoperating environment 200 of FIG. 2, wireless communication device 202may receive fpEID assignment confirmation message 210, which mayindicate that fpEID 205 is an assigned fpEID for wireless communicationdevice 202.

At 308, the assigned fpEID may be presented at the wirelesscommunication device. For example, in operating environment 200 of FIG.2, wireless communication device 202 may present fpEID 205 on a displayof wireless communication device 202. At 310, a service request messagecomprising the assigned fpEID may be sent to a service provider networkto initiate a service activation procedure. For example, in operatingenvironment 200 of FIG. 2, wireless communication device 202 may sendservice request message 212 comprising fpEID 205 to service activationframework 245 in order to initiate a service activation procedure.

At 312, a device authentication query may be received from the devicevendor network during the service activation procedure. For example, inoperating environment 200 of FIG. 2, wireless communication device 202may receive device authentication query 218 from identity managementframework 235 during a service activation procedure initiated at 310. At314, device authentication information may be sent to the device vendornetwork in response to the received device authentication query. Forexample, in response to receipt of device authentication query 218 inoperating environment 200 of FIG. 2, wireless communication device 202may send authentication information 220 to identity management framework235. The embodiments are not limited to these examples.

FIG. 4 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 400 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. While for purposes of simplicityof explanation, the respective processes are shown and described as aseries of blocks in FIG. 4, it is to be understood and appreciated thatthe claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks, assome blocks may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with otherblocks from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not allillustrated blocks may be required to implement the methods describedherein.

As shown in FIG. 4, an fpEID assignment request message may be receivedat 402 that comprises an EID of a wireless communication device. Forexample, in operating environment 200 of FIG. 2, identity managementframework 235 may receive fpEID assignment request message 208comprising EID 204 from wireless communication device 202. At 404, anfpEID may be assigned to the wireless communication device. For example,in operating environment 200 of FIG. 2, identity management framework235 may assign fpEID 205 to wireless communication device 202. At 406,the EID of the wireless communication device and the fpEID assigned tothe wireless communication device 202 may be stored. For example, inoperating environment 200 of FIG. 2, identity management framework 235may store EID 204 and fpEID 205.

At 408, an fpEID assignment confirmation message may be sent thatindicates the assigned fpEID. For example, in operating environment 200of FIG. 2, identity management framework 235 may send fpEID assignmentconfirmation message 210, which may indicate fpEID 205. At 410, an EIDretrieval request message comprising the assigned fpEID may be receivedfrom a service provider network. For example, in operating environment200 of FIG. 2, identity management framework 235 may receive EIDretrieval request message 216 from service activation framework 245, andEID retrieval request message 216 may comprise fpEID 205.

At 412, a device authentication query may be sent to the wirelesscommunication device. For example, in operating environment 200 of FIG.2, identity management framework 235 may send device authenticationquery 218 to wireless communication device 202. At 414, authenticationinformation may be received from the wireless communication device inresponse to the device authentication query. For example, in operatingenvironment 200 of FIG. 2, identity management framework 235 may receiveauthentication information 220 from wireless communication device 202 inresponse to device authentication query 218.

At 416, the wireless communication device may be authenticated based onthe received authentication information. For example, in operatingenvironment 200 of FIG. 2, identity management framework 235 mayauthenticate wireless communication device 202 based on authenticationinformation 220. At 418, an EID retrieval response message comprisingthe EID of the wireless communication device may be sent to the serviceprovider network. For example, in operating environment 200 of FIG. 2,identity management framework 235 may send EID retrieval responsemessage 222 to service activation framework 245, and EID retrievalresponse message 222 may comprise EID 204. The embodiments are notlimited to these examples.

FIG. 5 depicts an illustrative embodiment of a method 500 in accordancewith various aspects described herein. While for purposes of simplicityof explanation, the respective processes are shown and described as aseries of blocks in FIG. 5, it is to be understood and appreciated thatthe claimed subject matter is not limited by the order of the blocks, assome blocks may occur in different orders and/or concurrently with otherblocks from what is depicted and described herein. Moreover, not allillustrated blocks may be required to implement the methods describedherein.

As shown in FIG. 5, a service request message may be received at 502that comprises an assigned fpEID for a wireless communication device.For example, in operating environment 200 of FIG. 2, service activationframework 245 may receive service request message 212 from wirelesscommunication device 202, and service request message 212 may comprisefpEID 205.

At 504, an EID retrieval request message comprising the assigned fpEIDmay be sent to a device vendor network. For example, in operatingenvironment 200 of FIG. 2, service activation framework 245 may send EIDretrieval request message 216 to identity management framework 235, andEID retrieval request message 216 may comprise fpEID 205.

At 506, an EID retrieval response message comprising an EID of thewireless communication device may be received from the device vendornetwork. For example, in operating environment 200 of FIG. 2, serviceactivation framework 245 may receive EID retrieval response message 222from identity management framework 235, and EID retrieval responsemessage 222 may comprise EID 204.

At 508, an eSIM of the wireless communication device may be remotelyprovisioned based on the EID. For example, based on the EID 204comprised in the EID retrieval response message 222 received fromidentity management framework 235 in operating environment 200 of FIG.2, service activation framework 245 may provision eSIM 203. Theembodiments are not limited to these examples.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a block diagram 600 is shown illustrating anexample, non-limiting embodiment of a virtualized communication networkin accordance with various aspects described herein. In particular avirtualized communication network is presented that can be used toimplement some or all of the subsystems and functions of communicationnetwork 100, the subsystems and functions of operating environment 200,and methods 300, 400, and 500 presented in FIGS. 1-5. For example,virtualized communication network 600 can facilitate in whole or in partsending an fpEID assignment request message to a device vendor network,receiving an fpEID assignment confirmation message from the devicevendor network in response to the fpEID assignment request message,identifying an assigned fpEID based on the fpEID assignment confirmationmessage, and sending a service request message to a service providernetwork to initiate a service activation procedure, the service requestmessage comprising the assigned fpEID.

In particular, a cloud networking architecture is shown that leveragescloud technologies and supports rapid innovation and scalability via atransport layer 650, a virtualized network function cloud 625 and/or oneor more cloud computing environments 675. In various embodiments, thiscloud networking architecture is an open architecture that leveragesapplication programming interfaces (APIs); reduces complexity fromservices and operations; supports more nimble business models; andrapidly and seamlessly scales to meet evolving customer requirementsincluding traffic growth, diversity of traffic types, and diversity ofperformance and reliability expectations.

In contrast to traditional network elements—which are typicallyintegrated to perform a single function, the virtualized communicationnetwork employs virtual network elements (VNEs) 630, 632, 634, etc. thatperform some or all of the functions of network elements 150, 152, 154,156, etc. For example, the network architecture can provide a substrateof networking capability, often called Network Function VirtualizationInfrastructure (NFVI) or simply infrastructure that is capable of beingdirected with software and Software Defined Networking (SDN) protocolsto perform a broad variety of network functions and services. Thisinfrastructure can include several types of substrates. The most typicaltype of substrate being servers that support Network FunctionVirtualization (NFV), followed by packet forwarding capabilities basedon generic computing resources, with specialized network technologiesbrought to bear when general purpose processors or general purposeintegrated circuit devices offered by merchants (referred to herein asmerchant silicon) are not appropriate. In this case, communicationservices can be implemented as cloud-centric workloads.

As an example, a traditional network element 150 (shown in FIG. 1), suchas an edge router can be implemented via a VNE 630 composed of NFVsoftware modules, merchant silicon, and associated controllers. Thesoftware can be written so that increasing workload consumes incrementalresources from a common resource pool, and moreover so that it'selastic: so the resources are only consumed when needed. In a similarfashion, other network elements such as other routers, switches, edgecaches, and middle-boxes are instantiated from the common resource pool.Such sharing of infrastructure across a broad set of uses makes planningand growing infrastructure easier to manage.

In an embodiment, the transport layer 650 includes fiber, cable, wiredand/or wireless transport elements, network elements and interfaces toprovide broadband access 110, wireless access 120, voice access 130,media access 140 and/or access to content sources 175 for distributionof content to any or all of the access technologies. In particular, insome cases a network element needs to be positioned at a specific place,and this allows for less sharing of common infrastructure. Other times,the network elements have specific physical layer adapters that cannotbe abstracted or virtualized, and might require special DSP code andanalog front-ends (AFEs) that do not lend themselves to implementationas VNEs 630, 632 or 634. These network elements can be included intransport layer 650.

The virtualized network function cloud 625 interfaces with the transportlayer 650 to provide the VNEs 630, 632, 634, etc. to provide specificNFVs. In particular, the virtualized network function cloud 625leverages cloud operations, applications, and architectures to supportnetworking workloads. The virtualized network elements 630, 632 and 634can employ network function software that provides either a one-for-onemapping of traditional network element function or alternately somecombination of network functions designed for cloud computing. Forexample, VNEs 630, 632 and 634 can include route reflectors, domain namesystem (DNS) servers, and dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP)servers, system architecture evolution (SAE) and/or mobility managemententity (MME) gateways, broadband network gateways, IP edge routers forIP-VPN, Ethernet and other services, load balancers, distributers andother network elements. Because these elements don't typically need toforward large amounts of traffic, their workload can be distributedacross a number of servers—each of which adds a portion of thecapability, and overall which creates an elastic function with higheravailability than its former monolithic version. These virtual networkelements 630, 632, 634, etc. can be instantiated and managed using anorchestration approach similar to those used in cloud compute services.

The cloud computing environments 675 can interface with the virtualizednetwork function cloud 625 via APIs that expose functional capabilitiesof the VNEs 630, 632, 634, etc. to provide the flexible and expandedcapabilities to the virtualized network function cloud 625. Inparticular, network workloads may have applications distributed acrossthe virtualized network function cloud 625 and cloud computingenvironment 675 and in the commercial cloud, or might simply orchestrateworkloads supported entirely in NFV infrastructure from these thirdparty locations.

Turning now to FIG. 7, there is illustrated a block diagram of acomputing environment in accordance with various aspects describedherein. In order to provide additional context for various embodimentsof the embodiments described herein, FIG. 7 and the following discussionare intended to provide a brief, general description of a suitablecomputing environment 700 in which the various embodiments of thesubject disclosure can be implemented. In particular, computingenvironment 700 can be used in the implementation of network elements150, 152, 154, 156, access terminal 112, base station or access point122, switching device 132, media terminal 142, and/or VNEs 630, 632,634, etc. Each of these devices can be implemented viacomputer-executable instructions that can run on one or more computers,and/or in combination with other program modules and/or as a combinationof hardware and software. For example, computing environment 700 canfacilitate in whole or in part sending an fpEID assignment requestmessage to a device vendor network, receiving an fpEID assignmentconfirmation message from the device vendor network in response to thefpEID assignment request message, identifying an assigned fpEID based onthe fpEID assignment confirmation message, and sending a service requestmessage to a service provider network to initiate a service activationprocedure, the service request message comprising the assigned fpEID.

Generally, program modules comprise routines, programs, components, datastructures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particularabstract data types. Moreover, those skilled in the art will appreciatethat the methods can be practiced with other computer systemconfigurations, comprising single-processor or multiprocessor computersystems, minicomputers, mainframe computers, as well as personalcomputers, hand-held computing devices, microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer electronics, and the like, each of which can beoperatively coupled to one or more associated devices.

As used herein, a processing circuit includes one or more processors aswell as other application specific circuits such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit, digital logic circuit, state machine,programmable gate array or other circuit that processes input signals ordata and that produces output signals or data in response thereto. Itshould be noted that while any functions and features described hereinin association with the operation of a processor could likewise beperformed by a processing circuit.

The illustrated embodiments of the embodiments herein can be alsopracticed in distributed computing environments where certain tasks areperformed by remote processing devices that are linked through acommunications network. In a distributed computing environment, programmodules can be located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

Computing devices typically comprise a variety of media, which cancomprise computer-readable storage media and/or communications media,which two terms are used herein differently from one another as follows.Computer-readable storage media can be any available storage media thatcan be accessed by the computer and comprises both volatile andnonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media. By way of example,and not limitation, computer-readable storage media can be implementedin connection with any method or technology for storage of informationsuch as computer-readable instructions, program modules, structured dataor unstructured data.

Computer-readable storage media can comprise, but are not limited to,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), electricallyerasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or othermemory technology, compact disk read only memory (CD-ROM), digitalversatile disk (DVD) or other optical disk storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devicesor other tangible and/or non-transitory media which can be used to storedesired information. In this regard, the terms “tangible” or“non-transitory” herein as applied to storage, memory orcomputer-readable media, are to be understood to exclude onlypropagating transitory signals per se as modifiers and do not relinquishrights to all standard storage, memory or computer-readable media thatare not only propagating transitory signals per se.

Computer-readable storage media can be accessed by one or more local orremote computing devices, e.g., via access requests, queries or otherdata retrieval protocols, for a variety of operations with respect tothe information stored by the medium.

Communications media typically embody computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other structured or unstructureddata in a data signal such as a modulated data signal, e.g., a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and comprises any informationdelivery or transport media. The term “modulated data signal” or signalsrefers to a signal that has one or more of its characteristics set orchanged in such a manner as to encode information in one or moresignals. By way of example, and not limitation, communication mediacomprise wired media, such as a wired network or direct-wiredconnection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF, infrared and otherwireless media.

With reference again to FIG. 7, the example environment can comprise acomputer 702, the computer 702 comprising a processing unit 704, asystem memory 706 and a system bus 708. The system bus 708 couplessystem components including, but not limited to, the system memory 706to the processing unit 704. The processing unit 704 can be any ofvarious commercially available processors. Dual microprocessors andother multiprocessor architectures can also be employed as theprocessing unit 704.

The system bus 708 can be any of several types of bus structure that canfurther interconnect to a memory bus (with or without a memorycontroller), a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety ofcommercially available bus architectures. The system memory 706comprises ROM 710 and RAM 712. A basic input/output system (BIOS) can bestored in a non-volatile memory such as ROM, erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), EEPROM, which BIOS contains the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within the computer 702,such as during startup. The RAM 712 can also comprise a high-speed RAMsuch as static RAM for caching data.

The computer 702 further comprises an internal hard disk drive (HDD) 714(e.g., EIDE, SATA), which internal HDD 714 can also be configured forexternal use in a suitable chassis (not shown), a magnetic floppy diskdrive (FDD) 716, (e.g., to read from or write to a removable diskette718) and an optical disk drive 720, (e.g., reading a CD-ROM disk 722 or,to read from or write to other high capacity optical media such as theDVD). The HDD 714, magnetic FDD 716 and optical disk drive 720 can beconnected to the system bus 708 by a hard disk drive interface 724, amagnetic disk drive interface 726 and an optical drive interface 728,respectively. The hard disk drive interface 724 for external driveimplementations comprises at least one or both of Universal Serial Bus(USB) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 1394interface technologies. Other external drive connection technologies arewithin contemplation of the embodiments described herein.

The drives and their associated computer-readable storage media providenonvolatile storage of data, data structures, computer-executableinstructions, and so forth. For the computer 702, the drives and storagemedia accommodate the storage of any data in a suitable digital format.Although the description of computer-readable storage media above refersto a hard disk drive (HDD), a removable magnetic diskette, and aremovable optical media such as a CD or DVD, it should be appreciated bythose skilled in the art that other types of storage media which arereadable by a computer, such as zip drives, magnetic cassettes, flashmemory cards, cartridges, and the like, can also be used in the exampleoperating environment, and further, that any such storage media cancontain computer-executable instructions for performing the methodsdescribed herein.

A number of program modules can be stored in the drives and RAM 712,comprising an operating system 730, one or more application programs732, other program modules 734 and program data 736. All or portions ofthe operating system, applications, modules, and/or data can also becached in the RAM 712. The systems and methods described herein can beimplemented utilizing various commercially available operating systemsor combinations of operating systems.

A user can enter commands and information into the computer 702 throughone or more wired/wireless input devices, e.g., a keyboard 738 and apointing device, such as a mouse 740. Other input devices (not shown)can comprise a microphone, an infrared (IR) remote control, a joystick,a game pad, a stylus pen, touch screen or the like. These and otherinput devices are often connected to the processing unit 704 through aninput device interface 742 that can be coupled to the system bus 708,but can be connected by other interfaces, such as a parallel port, anIEEE 1394 serial port, a game port, a universal serial bus (USB) port,an IR interface, etc.

A monitor 744 or other type of display device can be also connected tothe system bus 708 via an interface, such as a video adapter 746. Itwill also be appreciated that in alternative embodiments, a monitor 744can also be any display device (e.g., another computer having a display,a smart phone, a tablet computer, etc.) for receiving displayinformation associated with computer 702 via any communication means,including via the Internet and cloud-based networks. In addition to themonitor 744, a computer typically comprises other peripheral outputdevices (not shown), such as speakers, printers, etc.

The computer 702 can operate in a networked environment using logicalconnections via wired and/or wireless communications to one or moreremote computers, such as a remote computer(s) 748. The remotecomputer(s) 748 can be a workstation, a server computer, a router, apersonal computer, portable computer, microprocessor-based entertainmentappliance, a peer device or other common network node, and typicallycomprises many or all of the elements described relative to the computer702, although, for purposes of brevity, only a remote memory/storagedevice 750 is illustrated. The logical connections depicted comprisewired/wireless connectivity to a local area network (LAN) 752 and/orlarger networks, e.g., a wide area network (WAN) 754. Such LAN and WANnetworking environments are commonplace in offices and companies, andfacilitate enterprise-wide computer networks, such as intranets, all ofwhich can connect to a global communications network, e.g., theInternet.

When used in a LAN networking environment, the computer 702 can beconnected to the LAN 752 through a wired and/or wireless communicationnetwork interface or adapter 756. The adapter 756 can facilitate wiredor wireless communication to the LAN 752, which can also comprise awireless AP disposed thereon for communicating with the adapter 756.

When used in a WAN networking environment, the computer 702 can comprisea modem 758 or can be connected to a communications server on the WAN754 or has other means for establishing communications over the WAN 754,such as by way of the Internet. The modem 758, which can be internal orexternal and a wired or wireless device, can be connected to the systembus 708 via the input device interface 742. In a networked environment,program modules depicted relative to the computer 702 or portionsthereof, can be stored in the remote memory/storage device 750. It willbe appreciated that the network connections shown are example and othermeans of establishing a communications link between the computers can beused.

The computer 702 can be operable to communicate with any wirelessdevices or entities operatively disposed in wireless communication,e.g., a printer, scanner, desktop and/or portable computer, portabledata assistant, communications satellite, any piece of equipment orlocation associated with a wirelessly detectable tag (e.g., a kiosk,news stand, restroom), and telephone. This can comprise WirelessFidelity (Wi-Fi) and BLUETOOTH® wireless technologies. Thus, thecommunication can be a predefined structure as with a conventionalnetwork or simply an ad hoc communication between at least two devices.

Wi-Fi can allow connection to the Internet from a couch at home, a bedin a hotel room or a conference room at work, without wires. Wi-Fi is awireless technology similar to that used in a cell phone that enablessuch devices, e.g., computers, to send and receive data indoors and out;anywhere within the range of a base station. Wi-Fi networks use radiotechnologies called IEEE 802.11 (a, b, g, n, ac, ag, etc.) to providesecure, reliable, fast wireless connectivity. A Wi-Fi network can beused to connect computers to each other, to the Internet, and to wirednetworks (which can use IEEE 802.3 or Ethernet). Wi-Fi networks operatein the unlicensed 2.4 and 5 GHz radio bands for example or with productsthat contain both bands (dual band), so the networks can providereal-world performance similar to the basic 10BaseT wired Ethernetnetworks used in many offices.

Turning now to FIG. 8, an embodiment 800 of a mobile network platform810 is shown that is an example of network elements 150, 152, 154, 156,and/or VNEs 630, 632, 634, etc. For example, platform 810 can facilitatein whole or in part sending an fpEID assignment request message to adevice vendor network, receiving an fpEID assignment confirmationmessage from the device vendor network in response to the fpEIDassignment request message, identifying an assigned fpEID based on thefpEID assignment confirmation message, and sending a service requestmessage to a service provider network to initiate a service activationprocedure, the service request message comprising the assigned fpEID. Inone or more embodiments, the mobile network platform 810 can generateand receive signals transmitted and received by base stations or accesspoints such as base station or access point 122. Generally, mobilenetwork platform 810 can comprise components, e.g., nodes, gateways,interfaces, servers, or disparate platforms, that facilitate bothpacket-switched (PS) (e.g., internet protocol (IP), frame relay,asynchronous transfer mode (ATM)) and circuit-switched (CS) traffic(e.g., voice and data), as well as control generation for networkedwireless telecommunication. As a non-limiting example, mobile networkplatform 810 can be included in telecommunications carrier networks, andcan be considered carrier-side components as discussed elsewhere herein.Mobile network platform 810 comprises CS gateway node(s) 812 which caninterface CS traffic received from legacy networks like telephonynetwork(s) 840 (e.g., public switched telephone network (PSTN), orpublic land mobile network (PLMN)) or a signaling system #7 (SS7)network 860. CS gateway node(s) 812 can authorize and authenticatetraffic (e.g., voice) arising from such networks. Additionally, CSgateway node(s) 812 can access mobility, or roaming, data generatedthrough SS7 network 860; for instance, mobility data stored in a visitedlocation register (VLR), which can reside in memory 830. Moreover, CSgateway node(s) 812 interfaces CS-based traffic and signaling and PSgateway node(s) 818. As an example, in a 3GPP UMTS network, CS gatewaynode(s) 812 can be realized at least in part in gateway GPRS supportnode(s) (GGSN). It should be appreciated that functionality and specificoperation of CS gateway node(s) 812, PS gateway node(s) 818, and servingnode(s) 816, is provided and dictated by radio technology(ies) utilizedby mobile network platform 810 for telecommunication over a radio accessnetwork 820 with other devices, such as a radiotelephone 875.

In addition to receiving and processing CS-switched traffic andsignaling, PS gateway node(s) 818 can authorize and authenticatePS-based data sessions with served mobile devices. Data sessions cancomprise traffic, or content(s), exchanged with networks external to themobile network platform 810, like wide area network(s) (WANs) 850,enterprise network(s) 870, and service network(s) 880, which can beembodied in local area network(s) (LANs), can also be interfaced withmobile network platform 810 through PS gateway node(s) 818. It is to benoted that WANs 850 and enterprise network(s) 870 can embody, at leastin part, a service network(s) like IP multimedia subsystem (IMS). Basedon radio technology layer(s) available in technology resource(s) orradio access network 820, PS gateway node(s) 818 can generate packetdata protocol contexts when a data session is established; other datastructures that facilitate routing of packetized data also can begenerated. To that end, in an aspect, PS gateway node(s) 818 cancomprise a tunnel interface (e.g., tunnel termination gateway (TTG) in3GPP UMTS network(s) (not shown)) which can facilitate packetizedcommunication with disparate wireless network(s), such as Wi-Finetworks.

In embodiment 800, mobile network platform 810 also comprises servingnode(s) 816 that, based upon available radio technology layer(s) withintechnology resource(s) in the radio access network 820, convey thevarious packetized flows of data streams received through PS gatewaynode(s) 818. It is to be noted that for technology resource(s) that relyprimarily on CS communication, server node(s) can deliver trafficwithout reliance on PS gateway node(s) 818; for example, server node(s)can embody at least in part a mobile switching center. As an example, ina 3GPP UMTS network, serving node(s) 816 can be embodied in serving GPRSsupport node(s) (SGSN).

For radio technologies that exploit packetized communication, server(s)814 in mobile network platform 810 can execute numerous applicationsthat can generate multiple disparate packetized data streams or flows,and manage (e.g., schedule, queue, format . . . ) such flows. Suchapplication(s) can comprise add-on features to standard services (forexample, provisioning, billing, customer support . . . ) provided bymobile network platform 810. Data streams (e.g., content(s) that arepart of a voice call or data session) can be conveyed to PS gatewaynode(s) 818 for authorization/authentication and initiation of a datasession, and to serving node(s) 816 for communication thereafter. Inaddition to application server, server(s) 814 can comprise utilityserver(s), a utility server can comprise a provisioning server, anoperations and maintenance server, a security server that can implementat least in part a certificate authority and firewalls as well as othersecurity mechanisms, and the like. In an aspect, security server(s)secure communication served through mobile network platform 810 toensure network's operation and data integrity in addition toauthorization and authentication procedures that CS gateway node(s) 812and PS gateway node(s) 818 can enact. Moreover, provisioning server(s)can provision services from external network(s) like networks operatedby a disparate service provider; for instance, WAN 850 or GlobalPositioning System (GPS) network(s) (not shown). Provisioning server(s)can also provision coverage through networks associated to mobilenetwork platform 810 (e.g., deployed and operated by the same serviceprovider), such as the distributed antennas networks shown in FIG. 1(s)that enhance wireless service coverage by providing more networkcoverage.

It is to be noted that server(s) 814 can comprise one or more processorsconfigured to confer at least in part the functionality of mobilenetwork platform 810. To that end, the one or more processor can executecode instructions stored in memory 830, for example. It is should beappreciated that server(s) 814 can comprise a content manager, whichoperates in substantially the same manner as described hereinbefore.

In example embodiment 800, memory 830 can store information related tooperation of mobile network platform 810. Other operational informationcan comprise provisioning information of mobile devices served throughmobile network platform 810, subscriber databases; applicationintelligence, pricing schemes, e.g., promotional rates, flat-rateprograms, couponing campaigns; technical specification(s) consistentwith telecommunication protocols for operation of disparate radio, orwireless, technology layers; and so forth. Memory 830 can also storeinformation from at least one of telephony network(s) 840, WAN 850, SS7network 860, or enterprise network(s) 870. In an aspect, memory 830 canbe, for example, accessed as part of a data store component or as aremotely connected memory store.

In order to provide a context for the various aspects of the disclosedsubject matter, FIG. 8, and the following discussion, are intended toprovide a brief, general description of a suitable environment in whichthe various aspects of the disclosed subject matter can be implemented.While the subject matter has been described above in the general contextof computer-executable instructions of a computer program that runs on acomputer and/or computers, those skilled in the art will recognize thatthe disclosed subject matter also can be implemented in combination withother program modules. Generally, program modules comprise routines,programs, components, data structures, etc. that perform particulartasks and/or implement particular abstract data types.

Turning now to FIG. 9, an illustrative embodiment of a communicationdevice 900 is shown. The communication device 900 can serve as anillustrative embodiment of devices such as data terminals 114, mobiledevices 124, vehicle 126, display devices 144 or other client devicesfor communication via either communications network 125. For example,computing device 900 can facilitate in whole or in part sending an fpEIDassignment request message to a device vendor network, receiving anfpEID assignment confirmation message from the device vendor network inresponse to the fpEID assignment request message, identifying anassigned fpEID based on the fpEID assignment confirmation message, andsending a service request message to a service provider network toinitiate a service activation procedure, the service request messagecomprising the assigned fpEID.

The communication device 900 can comprise a wireline and/or wirelesstransceiver 902 (herein transceiver 902), a user interface (UI) 904, apower supply 914, a location receiver 916, a motion sensor 918, anorientation sensor 920, and a controller 906 for managing operationsthereof. The transceiver 902 can support short-range or long-rangewireless access technologies such as Bluetooth®, ZigBee®, WiFi, DECT, orcellular communication technologies, just to mention a few (Bluetooth®and ZigBee® are trademarks registered by the Bluetooth® Special InterestGroup and the ZigBee® Alliance, respectively). Cellular technologies caninclude, for example, CDMA-1×, UMTS/HSDPA, GSM/GPRS, TDMA/EDGE, EV/DO,WiMAX, SDR, LTE, as well as other next generation wireless communicationtechnologies as they arise. The transceiver 902 can also be adapted tosupport circuit-switched wireline access technologies (such as PSTN),packet-switched wireline access technologies (such as TCP/IP, VoIP,etc.), and combinations thereof.

The UI 904 can include a depressible or touch-sensitive keypad 908 witha navigation mechanism such as a roller ball, a joystick, a mouse, or anavigation disk for manipulating operations of the communication device900. The keypad 908 can be an integral part of a housing assembly of thecommunication device 900 or an independent device operably coupledthereto by a tethered wireline interface (such as a USB cable) or awireless interface supporting for example Bluetooth®. The keypad 908 canrepresent a numeric keypad commonly used by phones, and/or a QWERTYkeypad with alphanumeric keys. The UI 904 can further include a display910 such as monochrome or color LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), OLED(Organic Light Emitting Diode) or other suitable display technology forconveying images to an end user of the communication device 900. In anembodiment where the display 910 is touch-sensitive, a portion or all ofthe keypad 908 can be presented by way of the display 910 withnavigation features.

The display 910 can use touch screen technology to also serve as a userinterface for detecting user input. As a touch screen display, thecommunication device 900 can be adapted to present a user interfacehaving graphical user interface (GUI) elements that can be selected by auser with a touch of a finger. The display 910 can be equipped withcapacitive, resistive or other forms of sensing technology to detect howmuch surface area of a user's finger has been placed on a portion of thetouch screen display. This sensing information can be used to controlthe manipulation of the GUI elements or other functions of the userinterface. The display 910 can be an integral part of the housingassembly of the communication device 900 or an independent devicecommunicatively coupled thereto by a tethered wireline interface (suchas a cable) or a wireless interface.

The UI 904 can also include an audio system 912 that utilizes audiotechnology for conveying low volume audio (such as audio heard inproximity of a human ear) and high volume audio (such as speakerphonefor hands free operation). The audio system 912 can further include amicrophone for receiving audible signals of an end user. The audiosystem 912 can also be used for voice recognition applications. The UI904 can further include an image sensor 913 such as a charged coupleddevice (CCD) camera for capturing still or moving images.

The power supply 914 can utilize common power management technologiessuch as replaceable and rechargeable batteries, supply regulationtechnologies, and/or charging system technologies for supplying energyto the components of the communication device 900 to facilitatelong-range or short-range portable communications. Alternatively, or incombination, the charging system can utilize external power sources suchas DC power supplied over a physical interface such as a USB port orother suitable tethering technologies.

The location receiver 916 can utilize location technology such as aglobal positioning system (GPS) receiver capable of assisted GPS foridentifying a location of the communication device 900 based on signalsgenerated by a constellation of GPS satellites, which can be used forfacilitating location services such as navigation. The motion sensor 918can utilize motion sensing technology such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or other suitable motion sensing technology to detect motionof the communication device 900 in three-dimensional space. Theorientation sensor 920 can utilize orientation sensing technology suchas a magnetometer to detect the orientation of the communication device900 (north, south, west, and east, as well as combined orientations indegrees, minutes, or other suitable orientation metrics).

The communication device 900 can use the transceiver 902 to alsodetermine a proximity to a cellular, WiFi, Bluetooth®, or other wirelessaccess points by sensing techniques such as utilizing a received signalstrength indicator (RSSI) and/or signal time of arrival (TOA) or time offlight (TOF) measurements. The controller 906 can utilize computingtechnologies such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP),programmable gate arrays, application specific integrated circuits,and/or a video processor with associated storage memory such as Flash,ROM, RAM, SRAM, DRAM or other storage technologies for executingcomputer instructions, controlling, and processing data supplied by theaforementioned components of the communication device 900.

Other components not shown in FIG. 9 can be used in one or moreembodiments of the subject disclosure. For instance, the communicationdevice 900 can include a slot for adding or removing an identity modulesuch as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card or Universal IntegratedCircuit Card (UICC). SIM or UICC cards can be used for identifyingsubscriber services, executing programs, storing subscriber data, and soon.

The terms “first,” “second,” “third,” and so forth, as used in theclaims, unless otherwise clear by context, is for clarity only anddoesn't otherwise indicate or imply any order in time. For instance, “afirst determination,” “a second determination,” and “a thirddetermination,” does not indicate or imply that the first determinationis to be made before the second determination, or vice versa, etc.

In the subject specification, terms such as “store,” “storage,” “datastore,” data storage,” “database,” and substantially any otherinformation storage component relevant to operation and functionality ofa component, refer to “memory components,” or entities embodied in a“memory” or components comprising the memory. It will be appreciatedthat the memory components described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory, or can comprise both volatile andnonvolatile memory, by way of illustration, and not limitation, volatilememory, non-volatile memory, disk storage, and memory storage. Further,nonvolatile memory can be included in read only memory (ROM),programmable ROM (PROM), electrically programmable ROM (EPROM),electrically erasable ROM (EEPROM), or flash memory. Volatile memory cancomprise random access memory (RAM), which acts as external cachememory. By way of illustration and not limitation, RAM is available inmany forms such as synchronous RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM),synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), enhancedSDRAM (ESDRAM), Synchlink DRAM (SLDRAM), and direct Rambus RAM (DRRAM).Additionally, the disclosed memory components of systems or methodsherein are intended to comprise, without being limited to comprising,these and any other suitable types of memory.

Moreover, it will be noted that the disclosed subject matter can bepracticed with other computer system configurations, comprisingsingle-processor or multiprocessor computer systems, mini-computingdevices, mainframe computers, as well as personal computers, hand-heldcomputing devices (e.g., PDA, phone, smartphone, watch, tabletcomputers, netbook computers, etc.), microprocessor-based orprogrammable consumer or industrial electronics, and the like. Theillustrated aspects can also be practiced in distributed computingenvironments where tasks are performed by remote processing devices thatare linked through a communications network; however, some if not allaspects of the subject disclosure can be practiced on stand-alonecomputers. In a distributed computing environment, program modules canbe located in both local and remote memory storage devices.

In one or more embodiments, information regarding use of services can begenerated including services being accessed, media consumption history,user preferences, and so forth. This information can be obtained byvarious methods including user input, detecting types of communications(e.g., video content vs. audio content), analysis of content streams,sampling, and so forth. The generating, obtaining and/or monitoring ofthis information can be responsive to an authorization provided by theuser. In one or more embodiments, an analysis of data can be subject toauthorization from user(s) associated with the data, such as an opt-in,an opt-out, acknowledgement requirements, notifications, selectiveauthorization based on types of data, and so forth.

Some of the embodiments described herein can also employ artificialintelligence (AI) to facilitate automating one or more featuresdescribed herein. The embodiments (e.g., in connection withautomatically identifying acquired cell sites that provide a maximumvalue/benefit after addition to an existing communication network) canemploy various AI-based schemes for carrying out various embodimentsthereof. Moreover, the classifier can be employed to determine a rankingor priority of each cell site of the acquired network. A classifier is afunction that maps an input attribute vector, x=(x1, x2, x3, x4, . . . ,xn), to a confidence that the input belongs to a class, that is,f(x)=confidence (class). Such classification can employ a probabilisticand/or statistical-based analysis (e.g., factoring into the analysisutilities and costs) to determine or infer an action that a user desiresto be automatically performed. A support vector machine (SVM) is anexample of a classifier that can be employed. The SVM operates byfinding a hypersurface in the space of possible inputs, which thehypersurface attempts to split the triggering criteria from thenon-triggering events. Intuitively, this makes the classificationcorrect for testing data that is near, but not identical to trainingdata. Other directed and undirected model classification approachescomprise, e.g., naïve Bayes, Bayesian networks, decision trees, neuralnetworks, fuzzy logic models, and probabilistic classification modelsproviding different patterns of independence can be employed.Classification as used herein also is inclusive of statisticalregression that is utilized to develop models of priority.

As will be readily appreciated, one or more of the embodiments canemploy classifiers that are explicitly trained (e.g., via a generictraining data) as well as implicitly trained (e.g., via observing UEbehavior, operator preferences, historical information, receivingextrinsic information). For example, SVMs can be configured via alearning or training phase within a classifier constructor and featureselection module. Thus, the classifier(s) can be used to automaticallylearn and perform a number of functions, including but not limited todetermining according to predetermined criteria which of the acquiredcell sites will benefit a maximum number of subscribers and/or which ofthe acquired cell sites will add minimum value to the existingcommunication network coverage, etc.

As used in some contexts in this application, in some embodiments, theterms “component,” “system” and the like are intended to refer to, orcomprise, a computer-related entity or an entity related to anoperational apparatus with one or more specific functionalities, whereinthe entity can be either hardware, a combination of hardware andsoftware, software, or software in execution. As an example, a componentmay be, but is not limited to being, a process running on a processor, aprocessor, an object, an executable, a thread of execution,computer-executable instructions, a program, and/or a computer. By wayof illustration and not limitation, both an application running on aserver and the server can be a component. One or more components mayreside within a process and/or thread of execution and a component maybe localized on one computer and/or distributed between two or morecomputers. In addition, these components can execute from variouscomputer readable media having various data structures stored thereon.The components may communicate via local and/or remote processes such asin accordance with a signal having one or more data packets (e.g., datafrom one component interacting with another component in a local system,distributed system, and/or across a network such as the Internet withother systems via the signal). As another example, a component can be anapparatus with specific functionality provided by mechanical partsoperated by electric or electronic circuitry, which is operated by asoftware or firmware application executed by a processor, wherein theprocessor can be internal or external to the apparatus and executes atleast a part of the software or firmware application. As yet anotherexample, a component can be an apparatus that provides specificfunctionality through electronic components without mechanical parts,the electronic components can comprise a processor therein to executesoftware or firmware that confers at least in part the functionality ofthe electronic components. While various components have beenillustrated as separate components, it will be appreciated that multiplecomponents can be implemented as a single component, or a singlecomponent can be implemented as multiple components, without departingfrom example embodiments.

Further, the various embodiments can be implemented as a method,apparatus or article of manufacture using standard programming and/orengineering techniques to produce software, firmware, hardware or anycombination thereof to control a computer to implement the disclosedsubject matter. The term “article of manufacture” as used herein isintended to encompass a computer program accessible from anycomputer-readable device or computer-readable storage/communicationsmedia. For example, computer readable storage media can include, but arenot limited to, magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disk, floppy disk,magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disk (CD), digitalversatile disk (DVD)), smart cards, and flash memory devices (e.g.,card, stick, key drive). Of course, those skilled in the art willrecognize many modifications can be made to this configuration withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the various embodiments.

In addition, the words “example” and “exemplary” are used herein to meanserving as an instance or illustration. Any embodiment or designdescribed herein as “example” or “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments ordesigns. Rather, use of the word example or exemplary is intended topresent concepts in a concrete fashion. As used in this application, theterm “or” is intended to mean an inclusive “or” rather than an exclusive“or”. That is, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, “Xemploys A or B” is intended to mean any of the natural inclusivepermutations. That is, if X employs A; X employs B; or X employs both Aand B, then “X employs A or B” is satisfied under any of the foregoinginstances. In addition, the articles “a” and “an” as used in thisapplication and the appended claims should generally be construed tomean “one or more” unless specified otherwise or clear from context tobe directed to a singular form.

Moreover, terms such as “user equipment,” “mobile station,” “mobile,”subscriber station,” “access terminal,” “terminal,” “handset,” “mobiledevice” (and/or terms representing similar terminology) can refer to awireless device utilized by a subscriber or user of a wirelesscommunication service to receive or convey data, control, voice, video,sound, gaming or substantially any data-stream or signaling-stream. Theforegoing terms are utilized interchangeably herein and with referenceto the related drawings.

Furthermore, the terms “user,” “subscriber,” “customer,” “consumer” andthe like are employed interchangeably throughout, unless contextwarrants particular distinctions among the terms. It should beappreciated that such terms can refer to human entities or automatedcomponents supported through artificial intelligence (e.g., a capacityto make inference based, at least, on complex mathematical formalisms),which can provide simulated vision, sound recognition and so forth.

As employed herein, the term “processor” can refer to substantially anycomputing processing unit or device comprising, but not limited tocomprising, single-core processors; single-processors with softwaremultithread execution capability; multi-core processors; multi-coreprocessors with software multithread execution capability; multi-coreprocessors with hardware multithread technology; parallel platforms; andparallel platforms with distributed shared memory. Additionally, aprocessor can refer to an integrated circuit, an application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic controller (PLC), acomplex programmable logic device (CPLD), a discrete gate or transistorlogic, discrete hardware components or any combination thereof designedto perform the functions described herein. Processors can exploitnano-scale architectures such as, but not limited to, molecular andquantum-dot based transistors, switches and gates, in order to optimizespace usage or enhance performance of user equipment. A processor canalso be implemented as a combination of computing processing units.

As used herein, terms such as “data storage,” data storage,” “database,”and substantially any other information storage component relevant tooperation and functionality of a component, refer to “memorycomponents,” or entities embodied in a “memory” or components comprisingthe memory. It will be appreciated that the memory components orcomputer-readable storage media, described herein can be either volatilememory or nonvolatile memory or can include both volatile andnonvolatile memory.

What has been described above includes mere examples of variousembodiments. It is, of course, not possible to describe everyconceivable combination of components or methodologies for purposes ofdescribing these examples, but one of ordinary skill in the art canrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the presentembodiments are possible. Accordingly, the embodiments disclosed and/orclaimed herein are intended to embrace all such alterations,modifications and variations that fall within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims. Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes”is used in either the detailed description or the claims, such term isintended to be inclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as“comprising” is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in aclaim.

In addition, a flow diagram may include a “start” and/or “continue”indication. The “start” and “continue” indications reflect that thesteps presented can optionally be incorporated in or otherwise used inconjunction with other routines. In this context, “start” indicates thebeginning of the first step presented and may be preceded by otheractivities not specifically shown. Further, the “continue” indicationreflects that the steps presented may be performed multiple times and/ormay be succeeded by other activities not specifically shown. Further,while a flow diagram indicates a particular ordering of steps, otherorderings are likewise possible provided that the principles ofcausality are maintained.

As may also be used herein, the term(s) “operably coupled to”, “coupledto”, and/or “coupling” includes direct coupling between items and/orindirect coupling between items via one or more intervening items. Suchitems and intervening items include, but are not limited to, junctions,communication paths, components, circuit elements, circuits, functionalblocks, and/or devices. As an example of indirect coupling, a signalconveyed from a first item to a second item may be modified by one ormore intervening items by modifying the form, nature or format ofinformation in a signal, while one or more elements of the informationin the signal are nevertheless conveyed in a manner than can berecognized by the second item. In a further example of indirectcoupling, an action in a first item can cause a reaction on the seconditem, as a result of actions and/or reactions in one or more interveningitems.

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement which achieves thesame or similar purpose may be substituted for the embodiments describedor shown by the subject disclosure. The subject disclosure is intendedto cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments.Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments notspecifically described herein, can be used in the subject disclosure.For instance, one or more features from one or more embodiments can becombined with one or more features of one or more other embodiments. Inone or more embodiments, features that are positively recited can alsobe negatively recited and excluded from the embodiment with or withoutreplacement by another structural and/or functional feature. The stepsor functions described with respect to the embodiments of the subjectdisclosure can be performed in any order. The steps or functionsdescribed with respect to the embodiments of the subject disclosure canbe performed alone or in combination with other steps or functions ofthe subject disclosure, as well as from other embodiments or from othersteps that have not been described in the subject disclosure. Further,more than or less than all of the features described with respect to anembodiment can also be utilized.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a processing system foran identity management framework of a device vendor, the processingsystem including a processor; and a memory that stores executableinstructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitateperformance of operations, the operations comprising: receiving, by theprocessing system, a friendly-phrase embedded universal integratedcircuit card identifier (fpEID) assignment request message from awireless communication device, wherein the fpEID assignment requestmessage comprises an embedded universal integrated circuit cardidentifier (EID) of the wireless communication device; sending to thewireless communication device, by the processing system, an fpEIDassignment confirmation message including an assigned fpEID for thewireless communication device; receiving, by the processing system, anEID retrieval request message from a service activation framework of aservice provider, the EID retrieval request message comprising theassigned fpEID for the wireless communication device; and providing tothe service activation framework of the service provider, by theprocessing system, the EID of the wireless communication device.
 2. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise:responsive to the receiving the EID retrieval request message, sendingby the processing system, a device authentication query to the wirelesscommunication device; and receiving, by the processing system, deviceauthentication information to enable the identity management frameworkto authenticate the wireless communication device.
 3. The apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the fpEID assignment request message includes arequested fpEID.
 4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the assigned fpEIDis equal to the requested fpEID.
 5. The apparatus of claim 1, whereinthe EID retrieval request further comprises an international mobileequipment identity (IMEI) of the wireless communication device.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, the operations further comprising storing the EIDof the wireless communication device and the assigned fpEID.
 7. Anon-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executableinstructions that, when executed by a processing system for an identitymanagement framework of a device vendor, the processing system includinga processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operationscomprising: receiving a friendly-phrase embedded universal integratedcircuit card identifier (fpEID) assignment request message from awireless communication device, wherein the fpEID assignment requestmessage comprises an embedded universal integrated circuit cardidentifier (EID) of the wireless communication device; sending, to thewireless communication device, an fpEID assignment confirmation messageincluding an assigned fpEID for the wireless communication device;receiving an EID retrieval request message from a service activationframework of a service provider, the EID retrieval request messagecomprising the assigned fpEID for the wireless communication device; andproviding, to the service activation framework of the service provider,the EID of the wireless communication device.
 8. The non-transitorymachine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the operations furthercomprise: responsive to the receiving the EID retrieval request message,sending a device authentication query to the wireless communicationdevice; and receiving device authentication information to enable theidentity management framework to authenticate the wireless communicationdevice.
 9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 8,wherein the providing the EID of the wireless communication device tothe service activation framework of the service provider is responsiveto the device authentication information received from the wirelesscommunication device.
 10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium ofclaim 7, wherein the fpEID assignment request message includes arequested fpEID.
 11. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim10, wherein the assigned fpEID is equal to the requested fpEID.
 12. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the EIDretrieval request further comprises an international mobile equipmentidentity (IMEI) of the wireless communication device.
 13. Thenon-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, the operationsfurther comprising storing the EID of the wireless communication deviceand the assigned fpEID.
 14. A method, comprising: receiving, by aprocessing system for an identity management framework of a devicevendor, the processing system comprising a processor, a friendly-phraseembedded universal integrated circuit card identifier (fpEID) assignmentrequest message from a wireless communication device, wherein the fpEIDassignment request message comprises an embedded universal integratedcircuit card identifier (EID) of the wireless communication device;sending to the wireless communication device, by the processing system,an fpEID assignment confirmation message including an assigned fpEID forthe wireless communication device; receiving, by the processing system,an EID retrieval request message from a service activation framework ofa service provider, the EID retrieval request message comprising theassigned fpEID for the wireless communication device; and providing tothe service activation framework of the service provider, by theprocessing system, the EID of the wireless communication device.
 15. Themethod of claim 14, further comprising: responsive to the receiving theEID retrieval request message, sending by the processing system, adevice authentication query to the wireless communication device; andreceiving, by the processing system, device authentication informationto enable the identity management framework to authenticate the wirelesscommunication device.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein the processingsystem provides the EID of the wireless communication device to theservice activation framework responsive to the device authenticationinformation received from the wireless communication device.
 17. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the fpEID assignment request messageincludes a requested fpEID.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein theassigned fpEID is equal to the requested fpEID.
 19. The method of claim14, wherein the EID retrieval request further comprises an internationalmobile equipment identity (IMEI) of the wireless communication device.20. The method of claim 14, the operations further comprising storingthe EID of the wireless communication device and the assigned fpEID.